The Prince Of Tennis
by YamaLuna
Summary: Echizen Ryoma is a young tennis prodigy who has won 4 consecutive tennis championships, who is constantly mistaken for a boy. From lying in the shadow of her father and the always-cold manner, she slowly starts to break out of her shell as well as overcome her biggest obstacle: Her father as well as herself.
1. A Prince Appears

Ah well, I had to start this sooner or later XD BTW, this is going by the Anime, minor changes here and there. Even though going by the Manga is much easier and faster, the Anime has more details and episodes, OVAs, etc. thus more chapters! And more for me to write, too! Hm, well, I hope this goes well XD This is a fem!Ryoma fic because I'm not really into yaoi. And, and, female or not, some females do use 'Ore', so that's why there is a lot of mistaking Ryoma's gender for people and first meetings. Also:

**"This is talking out loud in English" **"This is talking out loud in Japanese" This is narration. 'This is thinking.' _This is most probably flashbacks__._

Also, forgive any mistakes, like repetition, unless intentional, extra letters, missing letters, extra words, missing words, or even missing sentence XD Do point them out , tho. I would love to fix them~

* * *

[A Prince Appears]

Some random boys were playing, most probably, a match at the Kakinokizaka Tennis Garden. Another random boy started a discussion with his friends, "Hey, did you hear? There's a 12 year old grade schooler in the Under-16 tournament!"

"You're lying, right?" One of them replied as he picked up two tennis balls with his racket. "He must've registered wrong."

"I'm not kidding!" He protested. Two of them shook their heads as they were drinking juice when one of them said, "That's a load of crap, it can't be true..."

On the registered players sheet for the tournament today was a strange registration between number 47 and 49. Number 48, Echizen Ryoma (Free - age 12); it said.

* * *

Somewhere in a train heading towards this direction were a group of boys, talking about tennis grips, surrounding a lone girl. "Fools, don't you even know your own grip?" One of them said. He had brown eyes and hair that reached his shoulders and curved outside.

"If you want to do top-spins, you use the Western grip." He exclaimed. "It's done by holding the racket as if you're going to shake someone's hand." He turned while explaining, becoming at the side of the girl, who had brown eyes and very long, brown hair kept in twin braids. "Here!" He swung his racket almost hitting the girl who was now behind him. A kid with a white cap was also in front of him.

"That's why you're the ace of the Kitagoe tennis club!" Said one of his two friends beside him. "Stupid, it's common sense!" He said as he swung his racket again and again, every time almost hitting the girl's face, who was currently freaking out.

Just as the racket was going to hit her, the kid with the white cap spoke up. "Hey." The train then went into a tunnel, making the space they were occupying darker, and the boys stopped talking and looked at the kid knowing he/she was talking to them. "Huh?" The girl opened her eyes, realizing she wasn't hit by anything.

"You guys are too loud." The kid told them off just as the train got out of the short tunnel. Silence bestowed the air as the blabbering-boy looked at the kid, who's face was hidden by the cap, with an irritated expression on his face. As he was about to return the favor, the train jumped a bit and the almost fell, although his racket did fall.

"Woah!" They held the metal poles to stop themselves from falling down. "Heh, I can't believe I just got told off by a grade schooler..." The blabbering-boy said as he took the racket from the ground.

"Bingo." The kid said. "Eh?"

"Taking a racket from the ground is the correct Western grip."

"What?" He turned around at the kid. "Oh yeah, the handshake grip you were referring to is called Eastern grip. There are some who mix them up." The kid finished his/her sentence with a smirk, then left the train as it stopped and opened the doors. "Hey you! Wait up! Che!"

"Sasabe, you got dissed!" One of his friends snickered. Just then the train's horn rang signaling the doors closing. "Yo, we better get off too!" The other one reminded as they all ran outside. "Ah, me too!" The girl stood up and went out, too.

* * *

Somewhere close to the mentioned tennis garden was the girl from the train, looking at her watch. "Sheesh, grandma is late even though she's the one who called me out!" She complained to herself as she clenched her fists and looked down angrily.

Then, out of nowhere, the kid from before approached her. "Hey, do you know where the Kakinokizaka Tennis Garden is?" She lifted her head and looked at the kid.

Short, black hair with a tint of green that framed the kid's face, golden cat-like eyes, and a thin face. Dazzling, the living meaning of 'beautiful'. Was it a boy or a girl? The aura said a boy, but the face was quite the question. She couldn't help but blush.

Then she realized who the kid was, going with the fact that he is a 'boy'. "Ah, you're from the train!" She shouted loud enough only for him to hear as she pointed at him. "Oh, I'm sorry. I'm also going to Kakinokizaka Tennis Garden. Are you playing? This is my first time watching tennis!" She said with a bright smile.

"So, where is it?" The 'boy' said with a disturbed look on his face. She sure was another blabbering person. "Ah, sorry... Er... you use the south exit and go straight."

"South exit? Thanks." He thanked her as he left. She turned around and looked at his tennis bag, Ryoma.E, it said. 'Ryoma, he's Ryoma-kun.'

* * *

"Ah, grandma, you're late! You're 30 minutes late!" The girl pouted. "Sorry Sakuno. All right, let's go." She said as she headed north. "That's the north exit..." The girl called Sakuno questioned her grandmother. "What are you saying? Kakinokizaka Tennis Garden is just ahead of the north exit." Her grandmother cleared her doubts. "What are you doing? Let's hurry."

"Eh? North exit?" She turned jerked her chin at the south exit and panicked. "Ah, what will I do? I told him the wrong directions!"

* * *

As soon as they arrived at their destination, Sakuno started looking around for 'Ryoma-kun'. "Hey, you're in a hurry... Is there someone you have your eyes on?" Her grandmother asked. "What happens when you're late for a match, grandma?"

"Then he defaults." She answered. "Default?"

"It means disqualification." She explained. "Oh, this is bad. I have to go look around!" She said as she ran.

"What a strange child." The older woman said to herself. "Be careful!" Then smiled.

* * *

Sakuno looked left and right until she saw a familiar figure and bag lying on the ground beside each other. "Ah!"

"E... Excuse me..."

"Huh?" He looked her, not noticing the faint redness on her cheeks. "..Did you make it on time?"

"Oh, that. I was 5 minutes late. I defaulted." He said as he went back to his original position.

"Ah... I'm so sorry!" She bowed. "It's my fault!" The boy sat from his lying position. "Of course, you're right. Could it have been anyone else?"

"... Ah... Hey, Are you thirsty?" She exclaimed as she clasped her hands together.

"Huh?"

* * *

Two cans of ponta fell and the boy grabbed them, giving one of them to the girl. "I'm sorry, I didn't bring any change..." She said as she took one can from his hand.

When they sat down on a bench, Sakuno started a conversation. "Er... Thank you for earlier. You saved me in the train."

"From what?"

"From what? Well," She fidgeted with a blush, though inside her, she kind of knew she wasn't exactly attracted to him _romantically_, it was something else, but she couldn't grasp it. Well, not that it mattered right now. "If you hadn't stepped in, I could've been hit by the racket."

"You were on the same train?"

"Eh?"

"Where did you sit?"

"Right across from you."

"Hmm? Whatever. I just told them to shut up because they were loud, that's all..." He said as he continued drinking his ponta. Sakuno pouted, but it didn't last long as they were interrupted by a juice can flying right across his face, almost hitting him. "Sorry for being so loud..." The blabbering-boy, or Sasabe, appeared behind them. "Oh! It's the little brat from before!"

"Looks like he lost and is ready to go back home!"

"Heh. You know, I'm seeded in the Under-16 tournament. Someone like you shouldn't try and teach me about tennis." He slide the racket under his cap and lifted the cap to take a better look at the 'brat'. All three teens blushed. Was he really a boy?

"W-Well, just go back to your momma!" He added more tone into his voice, but all the boy did was give him an even more stern stare. "I don't like that look of yours!" He narrowed his eyes even more, dismissing the warning from the older boys.

"It's way too early for a girly kid like you to talk to me about tennis!" The air got tense and more dangerous.

"You ignorant brat!" He yelled as he swung his racket to hit him.

"Kyah!" Sakuno yelled, though only loud enough for the circle around her to hear, and covered her face with her hands. As if time stopped, there was no sound, but no one got hit either. Sasabe stopped the racket just in time, causing it to stop inches away from the younger boy's eyes. His eyes were still staring, yet also cold, at the older boy.

He wasn't even scared. This amazed Sakuno, who soon sighed in relief.

"Che!" Sasabe complained in an annoyed tone with an irritated expression. "Hey, let's go..." His friend suggested.

'Looks like we're finally out of trouble..! Whew!' Sakuno thought, not knowing what's coming next.

"Ne," The boy called them as they were leaving. "Did you remember the grip yet?" He said as he picked up the can they threw and threw it himself into the garbage can. "What?!"

"If not, let me teach you all about tennis."

* * *

"I, I think we should really stop this.." Sakuno told him.

"Why? I came all the way to play a match, it'd be stupid to just go back like this." He said bluntly as he handed her his jacket. "Hold this for me." He was petite, _too _petite, actually.

Even if a boy was underweight, his figure was still not as wide as it should be.. Although his ches- Bah! Sakuno stopped thinking about those stuff.

"We'll self-judge, okay?" Sasabe said, since there wasn't anyone who'll judge the points.

"Sure, I don't mind."

"Well, here I go! Handicap! Underhanded serve!" It was so weak that he got angry, he shot the ball to the corner with pin-point accuracy. "Play seriously!"

"F-15-0.."

"I-I was just fooling around.."

"Ooh, so this was where you ran off to!"

"G-Grandma!"

"This looks interesting!"

"Don't just stand there and watch! Stop this! One thing led to another, and now he's playing a game with a high schooler!"

"What are you saying?" Her grandmother assured her, not noticing how she addressed the kid. "Didn't you see that return? This is where it gets interesting.." She finished her sentence as the younger lad smirked. They were playing a rather boring game at the start, when Sakuno's grandmother started talking about the lad. "You know him, grandma?" She asked.

"Oya? _Him_? Hehe, didn't I tell you? _He_'s the _Prince _Of Tennis." She said, emphasizing certain words.

"Prince Of Tennis?" Sakuno was astonished, but at the same time weirded out by her grandma's emphasizations.

Her grandmother kept on explaining to her who 'he' was, still emphasizing at certain words, and chuckling at her granddaughter's reactions. The game was going perfectly fine until Sasabe snapped and threw his racket at Echizen's forehead, claiming his hand 'slipped'.

Though in the end, Echizen still won the game 6-0, with the little injury and blood still running, and the fact that he used the Twist Serve to silence the idiot a bit. Not to mention making a fool out of him in the end.

"Hey! I won't be satisfied with this! I'd win if there was just another set!"

"Sasabe.. Just admit you've lost."

"I did not lo-"

"I don't mind. Having another set, that is." But just then, Echizen changed to his left hand, shocking everyone except Ryuzaki Sumire, Sakuno's grandmother. He shot a ball right through Sasabe's legs which made him lose his balance, admitting his defeat.

"You're seriously such a monster, Ryoma." Ryuzaki chuckled.

"He was just too weak."

"Now, now, give her the jacket, Sakuno."

"Eh? Give 'her'?"

"Cover up, Ryoma. There are lots of wolves around here, your father won't like it." She said with a wink.

Echizen sighed as she took the jacket from Sakuno's hand. "Ouisu."

"E-Eh?" Sakuno looked between her grandmother and Echizen. "Eh?" She continued flipping her head between the now laughing Ryuzaki and the always cold, stoic 'girl'. "EEEEEEEEEEH?!"

"What? Don't tell me you really thought it was a boy?"

"B-B-B-B-But..." Sakuno face was horrified. Was it rude? Was she rude to 'her'?

"Oh, come on! Does this cute face belong to a boy?" Ryuzaki grinned as she pinched Ryoma's cheeks lightly.

"Let me go, Ryushaki-shan." She said, annoyed, noticing how she spelled the words.

"I'm sorry!" Sakuno suddenly yelled as she bowed deeply. "What is it, Sakuno?" Ryuzaki asked as she looked at Sakuno, letting go of the other girl.

"I-I must have been rude to address Ryoma-kun in a boyish manner.. A-Ah! I did it again.. I-I'm sorry, Ryoma-kun.. I-I mean Ry-"

"I don't mind." She said coldly.

"E-Eh?"

"I'm used to this already."

"O-Oh.. Really.." She thought about it, and really, she would have corrected her if she was angry, no? No.. But maybe she was so angry that she couldn't even speak!

Echizen sighed. "I said it's nothing. Stop fretting over it, it's annoying."

"Y-Yes, Ryoma-kun.." Ah! _Again_. She stopped thinking about it and looked at the girl who was wearing her long-sleeved, red jacket now. 'Cool.. Really cool..' Sakuno thought that long hair would make a girl more beautiful, so she grew out her hair.

Well, it wasn't like she wanted to impress anyone, no, it's just that females in the family kept it long, and she had no reason to cut it short nor medium-length. Plus, it was fun experimenting hairstyles on long hair; or at least Tomoka, her best friend, said so.

But no matter how much she looked at the girl, she looked way better. And her hair isn't really all that long, now is it? Not like this will make her cut her hair, but she couldn't stop herself from being dazzled, even if they were the same gender.

Obviously, the said girl looked waaay better than her. She had more curves, too. A slimmer waist, better hair quality with an astonishing color, unique eyes with a rare color, well-shaped neck, a perfect-size head. Even her chest was developed. Not like she was a pervert, but compared to her own size, the girl really had it. 'Well, at lease I've found some new, great friend!' ..Or maybe that was her own assumption.


	2. Samurai Junior

[Samurai Junior]

"Please." A man, a not-so-young one, said as he handed in a magazine to Ryuzaki Sumire with a smile. "I came to deliver this month's release."

"You could have just sent it." She chuckled as the flipped through the pages. "It's okay, we do spend plenty of time on tennis students, too."

"Hmm? I see, you came to spy on our new members, then?" She smirked. "You got me." He laughed.

"How does it look this year?" He leaned in, rather curious. "We'll see." She replied looking rather proud.

She looked at the colorful pages of the magazine in her hand and looked a bit shocked as she stopped on a certain page. "Huh?" _Joint Special - Back To The 80's - Japan's Golden Age_, were written in big, bold letter.

"I was in charge of that article." He said, proudly. "Couldn't you have written it in a calmer manner? This thing has bias written all over it."

"I'm fine with that." He slapped the table, though not loudly nor rudely, "Men's tennis was really something back then. I was an especially big fan of Echizen Nanjiroh!"

"Echizen, eh?"

"He was called the Samurai From The Land Of The Sakura..." He said as he recalled the first time he watched one of the Samurai's matches, looking rather amazed.

_Game and set. Won by Echizen._

"He retired at a young age. But he could've reached the top of the world had he played for a couple of more years. Even a Grand Slam wouldn't have been just a dream." He smiled remembering how, and still how, he is a big, big fan of that man.

"Echizen.. Nanjiroh, eh?" Ryuzaki smiled as she stood up and looked through the window at the students entering the school gates.

* * *

"Morning!"

"Morning!" People greeted their friends as they met each other either outside or in class. The bell rang not long after.

In front of class 1-2, stood a teacher and a student. "Please wait here for a bit, okay? I'll call you in soon." She smiled as she went in. All the student did was just nod.

"Alright everyone, stop talking. Good morning!"

"Good morning, teacher!" They said in unison as they sat in their seats. "This year, we have a rather new freshmen. Be nice, okay?"

"Eh? New student?"

"Cool, I wanna see! Hopefully it's a guy!"

"We don't have any cute girls around.. Let's hope its a new, _cute _girl!"

"Hey, what did that mean!"

"Ahem. Please come in." The teacher shut the students and let the kid in. There is no use in repeating, but everyone was dazzled. Some started to question their own orientation. "Why don't you introduce yourself?"

"Hai. Echizen Ryoma." A moment of silence passed by. "...That's it?"

"I don't have anything else to say."

"Then, how about if the class asks you questions? Is that fine then?"

"I don't mind."

"Ja, minna-san, go on and ask Echizen-chan some questions, but make it quick, we have to start our lesson."

"Hai." Then they freezed. Echizen-_chan_? "Ano.. You are a girl?" A girl asked her. "Isn't it obvious?"

"E-Eh.. W-Well.."

"Why do you wear the boys' uniform, then?" A kid asked. "It's comfortable."

"Ooooooh..." The class 'Oh-ed'. Everyone took this pretty simply. The girls found it 'brave and cool', and they boys thought it was 'tomboyish and cute'; except for one monkey-faced kid who was sleeping.

'They took this pretty simply, eh?' The teacher chuckled to herself.

"Then to your seat please." The teacher smiled and pointed to a seat. "And someone wake Horio-kun."

* * *

The bell rang once more, indicating a free time for the students. Echizen was walking around with her tennis bag on her right shoulder, not to strain her dominant hand, as she was called.

"Hey, Echizen!" She turned around to see a monkey-faced kid. "Yo, you're Echizen from my class, right? Are you joining the tennis club, too?"

"Who are you?" She said with the usual expression.

"Ahem. I'm Horio. And this school is famous for its tennis. There are tons of strong players. Ma," He jerked his thumb at himself, closed his, and posed in a proud manner.

"Even though I look like this, I have 2 years of tennis experience. I also went to tennis school. Becoming a regular isn't a dream either..." He opened his eyes to look at Echizen just to see her already walking away from him, not showing any real interest in his talk.

"Hey Echizen, wait up!"

Since she was walking with her head downwards, closing her eyes (it might help her from hearing Horio's voice, y'know!), she almost hit someone.

"Oops." She stopped just in time after hearing the warning and opened her eyes to look at the older kid.

"If you don't look at where you're going, you'll hit someone." It was a boy, obviously older than her, with black hair that's most probably spiked by gel and gleaming purple eyes. Horio had already caught up to them and stared between the older and younger kid.

She stared, more like 'glared', at the older boy.

"That's a big bag you're carrying." He smiled sheepishly, but it quickly faded away as he realized the younger kid's glare. He frowned.

"I don't like your look." He looked at him intently and let it go.

"But since you look like a freshmen, and a rather cute one, I'll ignore it this time." He walked away as he patted the girl's head, causing her to frown.

"Look in front when you walk... front."

"What's with that guy?" Horio exclaimed.

* * *

"It's just like Seigaku to have nice facilities. Let's go sign up now, Echizen." She didn't say anything, and a voice quickly replied to them.

"You can't." They turned around at the voice to see two, obviously freshmen, getting ready. "The juniors and seniors have a game with another school. So the sign up starts tomorrow."

"Most of the freshmen already left. But we want to hit some balls before we go." The other one said as both of them smiled.

"Damn, this sucks." Horio complained, while Echizen didn't even stutter a word.

"Hey. You there. Are you guys going to join our tennis club?" Two older kids approached them from inside the courts.

"Ah, hello." Horio and the other two freshmen bowed.

"I'm Mizuno Katsuo, a freshman." The one with the extremely cropped, almost bald, hairstyle said.

"Katou Kachirou." The other one with the weird, almost mushroom-like hairstyle, said.

"Hehehe, I'm Horio Satoshi. I am honored to be able to join a tennis club as renowned as Seigaku's. I have 2 years of tennis experience, hehe."

Seeing that the last freshman who was glaring (well, not really, okay, almost, just a little bit. Let's call it a strong stare.) without introducing himself, one of the kids asked. "You over there, what's your name?"

She just glared at them and Horio panicked. "Bastard, can't you hear me!"

"It's okay..." The other one said as he assured his friend with a hand on his shoulder and turned around at the freshmen in general. "We know of a good game, want to try it?"

"Eh, game?" Horio exclaimed. The two older boys smirked at each other.

"You mean that?" The one who just lost his temper snickered.

"Right, right. You have to play that." He quickly agreed.

* * *

"The rules are simple." The one with the green headband started as he put an 'empty' can on the ground.

"You serve from over there and try to hit the can in 10 tries. The prize money is 10,000 yen." They were shocked and happy at the same time, not knowing they were falling into a hole. The headband-guy explained a little more.

Standing at the side, Echizen was rather skeptical. Something was definitely off. Well, she'll understand if she watches.

"Allow us to play, senpai!" They bowed.

"That's the spirit!" He said as they both snickered. Echizen looked at them with a hint of who-cares but at the same time, doubtful.

* * *

"Why did you suddenly join the tennis club, Sakuno?"

"There's no reason." She said with a slight blush, recalling the cool figure from before.

"Let's hurry. I have to hand in the registration form." As they were walking, they were stopped by an older woman.

She wasn't attending school, definitely, but she wasn't_ old_ either. "Hey, are you two going to the tennis club? That's a sign up form, right? I'm saved! Can you take me there?"

"Eh...?" The two girls looked at each other.

"Eh? Ah, I'm sorry, let me introduce myself. I'm Shiba Saori, an editor from Monthly Tennis. I heard that men's tennis club is at a very high level. I came to get a report on the new players, but... I can't seem to find the all important tennis courts... Which is why-" As she was blabbering, someone cut her off.

"Hey Shiba! What are you doing over there?" It was the old man from before, who was now obviously her co-worker.

"Ah, Inoue-senpai."

"Did you get the report already?"

"I was about to do it now..." She smiled as she clasped her hands together.

"Whaaaaaat?"

* * *

At the same time, at the tennis club, the small 'game' was still going on. Kachirou and Katsuo were already done, not getting anything.

Horio started bragging about how they don't know how to play, and said he'll finish this now. Echizen was looking quite bored, but it was as if she knew something.

He didn't get any either, causing the other two to mock him; although the last one was quite close. They remembered that the tryout fee was 200 yen, so all three started paying. "Huh? Maybe you guys misunderstood."

"'Knock the can down' serve game." The headband-guy said as he turned the can around to reveal the 'prices'.

"500 yen per ball. 200 yen tryout fee extra. Together, it's 5,200 yen per person." They argued for no more than 5 seconds when the headband-guy turned at Echizen who was just bored and was currently leaning on the wall.

"Hey, shorty over there. You should try it too."

"Don't think you can just save yourself!"

"Sure, I'll do it." She said as she straightened herself up with her right hand running through her hair; which looked quite sexy.

She grabbed a racket, her face still indifferent. "Don't do it, Echizen. You'll never hit it." Horio tried to stop her, but to no avail.

"Just step back."

After reading herself and clearing the area from the freshmen, she started to 'explain' some stuff. "You can't knock it down if you went directly at the can."

The freshmen were confused while the older kids were nervous. "What are you talking about?"

"There are rocks in there, right?" She said as she hit a rather slow ball but with extreme pinpoint accuracy at the top of the can, causing it fall and reveal the rocks hidden inside. She looked at it with a bred expression, since she already figured this much out.

"Ahhh, the senpais are cheating! That's so dirty!" Horio exclaimed.

"Shut up! What does a newcomer know?!"

"Damned brat, he shouldn't have done that!"

But Echizen kept on hitting and hitting the can with that petite and small body of hers. "If I hit it 100 times, will you give me 1,000,000 yen?"

"A...Awesome control..." The freshmen awed, while the older kids frowned.

"Bastard! How can you use that tone with a junior, aah?!"

"Just because you were born a year earlier... doesn't justify you doing something like this." She bluntly said, and the freshmen sensed the tense aura, especially when they saw the two juniors moving right in front of the younger kid, about to hit a fist. "You brat..."

Just then a ball flew and hit the can with extreme power causing it to bend. "Oh, I hit it. Lucky~!" A familiar boy said.

"Ah, from before..." Horio remembered the older boy.

He moved and stood right behind Echizen with a smiley grin, in which she replied to with turning her head away with a 'hmph'.

"Hey, hey, Arai. Just because the seniors aren't here... doesn't mean you can bully the new freshmen." He first said in a cheerful tone, but then quickly added in a darker tone, "And you won't, either!"

The two kids flinched. "Momo, something came up, so I'm leaving first..." The headband-guy, or Arai, said.

"Later." The other one said as they both left.

"Hmph." Echizen walked away as 'Momo' stopped her.

"Hey, who said you can go?"

"Huh?" Sakuno looked shocked as she, her friend Tomoka, and the two reporters arrived at the boys' tennis club.

"What's wrong?"

"Huh? Ryoma-kun.."

'Why is Ryoma-kun in the boys' uniform..? Does this mean I'm supposed to keep this is a secret..? Then, I better not say anything!'

Sakuno naturally said -kun, the aura Echizen gave off just somehow made others say it like that; the more to add to misunderstandings.

"You know him?" Tomoka grinned sheepishly as looked at Sakuno then Echizen for a few times.

"Let's go, let's go!" She said with a _big _grin on her face.

"Yup, it's you, Ryoma-kun!"

"Uh?" She turned around to face the two girls. Sakuno Just smiled while Tomoka blushed happily.

"...So cool. Sakuno, who is this?" She turned to her slightly-blushing friend with huge white in her eyes and small pupils.

"Introduce him." Echizen didn't even mind correcting her. She was used to this scenario daily.

"Oh, this is Echizen Ryoma-kun."

"Echizen... Ryoma..." Inoue said in the background.

"Heh, so you're Echizen Ryoma..." She ignored the brat behind her until she heard what she didn't want to hear. "Much smaller than I thought..."

"Who are you?" She jerked her chin towards his direction.

"Sophomore Momoshiro Takeshi. I heard from the grandma coach that... you can use the Twist Serve?"

Horio was shocked, and even more shocked when the other two freshmen didn't know what it was.

"What about it?" Echizen said with a smirk.

"I'll crush you. Have to do it before you start to bud."

The freshmen were tense and the other party wasn't so relaxed either. Echizen narrowed her eyes at the taller guy.

* * *

Momoshiro was provoking the smaller kid to use the Twist Serve, which ended with a blunt "No."

Tomoka was fangirling even over a fault, Inoue was thinking and thinking, Shiba was just amazed at the two players.

But immediately after the no, Echizen used a Twist Serve. Inoue then explained to the two girls what was the Twist Serve.

"Scary, scary.. I was caught off-guard." Momoshiro laughed it off, even after thinking how unbelievable it really was.

"Are you okay?" Echizen said.

"Eh?"

"You're sweating." She smirked, causing him to twitch.

"Bastard."

"15-0." Horio, who was the referee, called.

After a couple of failed shots, and a lucky hit, Echizen thought it was time to end this quickly, for some reason, and used a drop volley.

Momoshiro stumbled, for some reason, and fell on his butt.

"Drop volley... You can do that too?!" He said in a whining voice.

Echizen didn't even wait, she was getting ready for the next serve, when Inoue started taking pictures, until he looked intently into her eyes.

'Those eyes..! This boy.. Echizen Ryoma.. Could he be.. Echizen Nanjiroh's...!'

* * *

Somewhere else was a fairly middle aged man, who just sneezed.

"What's this, who's talking about me? Heh, must be some pretty blonde babe~!"

Then he looked at the tennis court in front him. "But really, it is boring when there's no opponent around. Sleep.."

He thought of that, but quickly grabbed some ahem magazines.

* * *

"If he gets this in, it's Ryoma-kun's win!" Kachirou stated.

'I let this drag on for too long. I must end this quickly.' Momoshiro thought.

As if she knew what he said in his head she smirked. "Mada Mada Dane." ...And switched to her left, originally dominant, hand.

Momoshiro was taken aback for a moment.

"Ah, I remember..." Sakuno muttered.

Momoshiro realized something quickly, he shouldn't let this continue, it was especially good for himself. Just as Echizen was about to throw the ball, he yelled. "Time out!"

"Eh?" Echizen turned at him.

"I quit. It's over." He waved his hand back and forth. The other people, excluding his opponent, gaped. "I'll let you go now."

She just looked at him stoically. "Doesn't matter to me." And walked away.

"Che, how uncute.." Momoshiro exclaimed to himself.

It wasn't minutes until Echizen was packing her stuff.

"That was great, Ryoma-kun!" Katsuo cheered.

"I was very surprised!" Kachirou exclaimed.

"Echizen, which club did you train at?" Horio said enthusiastically.

"Temple." She said quickly. Conversations weren't really her thing.

"Temple?" They said in unison, confused.

"W-Wait, Tomoka-chan!" Sakuno cried as Tomoka led her into the courts.

"Good to make your acquaintance. I am friends with Ryuzaki Sakuno. My name is Osakada Tomoka. Nice to meet you!" Tomoka said as cheerfully as she could ever be.

"Huh?" Echizen turned at them, still with the stoic face.

"Hello, Ryoma-kun. I'm sorry about last time." Sakuno said, blushing. Somehow the aura this girl gave was the same as a guy's. But not like she was one.

"Ryuzaki Sakuno...? Who's that?" She said, straight to her face, making her shocked even more than she originally was.

"Heh?! Who's that? You don't remember? I'm shocked!" She said with an extremely sad face.

"Are you really okay with this, Momoshiro?"

"Oh, Baa-san.."

"At this rate, that freshman would have ran all over you."

"You could be right..."

"Be serious... If your right foot wasn't sprained, you could've.." She looked at his right foot, which was wrapped in bandages. "No, he knew it right from the start."

She chuckled. "Really?"

"He used his other hand to play a senpai. Must be his handicap."

"How scary.. But aren't you still dense, Momoshiro?"

"Eh?"

"Heh, never mind, never mind.."

Echizen left as her figure was watched by all three elder people.

"Echizen Ryoma.. Who is he..?" Shiba exclaimed, asking no one in particular.

"That's right.. That boy is probably... Samurai Junior..." He smiled.

"Huh? Samurai... Junior?"

* * *

"Damn, where is that girl loitering at?" He looked up at the sky and grinned weirdly.

"..Maybe a boyfriend? ...But I'm not gonna allow that so suddenly! He must have my approval, and..."

He kept on blabbering, as somewhere else, the little girl sneezed.


	3. Seigaku Regulars Arrive!

[Seigaku Regulars Arrive!]

"Echizen Ryoma?" Someone said. "Have you heard of him?" Another one asked.

"No." He replied. "From what Momo tells me, he's no ordinary freshmen." A brown-haired boy, or was it a girl, said. "Well, if he said so, it must be true then!" An egg-head smiled. "Hmm.." The group of the five kids thought about it.

"If that's the case, we should be grateful."

"We'll see.."

* * *

On the way to the tennis courts, Echizen walked slowly. 'I'm really joining..' She sighed as she hoped she'd find someone decent to play with, tugging her cap closer to her face. Not knowing, someone was watching her. "Sakuno, look, look!" Tomoka called her friend happily as she came to watch what's making her friend this happy.

"Oh, Ryoma-kun.."

"He's so cool! Ne, ne, Sakuno thinks so too, right?!"

"Uh.. Yeah." She smiled as she looked in the direction where she had left. Tomoka kept on squeeling and jumping around. 'Maybe I should tell her, and let her keep it a secret..'

"Ne, Tomo-chan.." She called her, but she wasn't listening to her. She kept on talking and blabbering about the girl; or boy, to her, at least. It took her five minutes to realize that she was called. "What?"

"Uh.." Sakuno sweat-dropped. "N-Nothing.."

On the floor above them stood a boy, who looked quite older than his age, with brown hair and glasses. He had his hands in his pocket, staring outside.

* * *

Echizen fixed her shoelaces, she wouldn't want to fall in front of anyone, not even if she was alone. "Morning practice.." Kachirou sighed. "This is pretty rough... I wonder if I'll last the day."

Horio looked back and forth between some people rallying, then he smirked. "I thought it was strange, that Momoshiro-senpai. He hurt his foot, so he wasn't even playing with half of his strength." He mocked a certain someone, who was barely even listening.

"He was injured?!" Katsuo gaped. The freshmen muttered how they didn't notice and Horio was quite amazing. He kept on blabbering about that he was sure a mere freshman wouldn't be able to win against an older player. Then he turned around to look at the 'boy' who, obviously, wasn't listening.

"Oi, Echizen, are you listening?" He said with an annoyed expression.

"Not at all." She replied, still fixing her shoelaces.

It didn't take long until Horio started talking about the ranking matches - which were used to determine the regulars monthly. "That's one of the secrets that keep Seigaku strong!" Horio smiled proudly.

"Hmm.." The other freshmen gathered around him. "You're pretty knowledgeable. That's kinda cool." One of them said as the others nodded and agreed. "W-Well I guess. I'd call this common sense." It didn't go past two seconds until he started bragging again.

'There are some... who know nothing but useless information.' Echizen grabbed her racket and turned away, with an extremely straight face.

"Hey." Someone called, obviously, her. She looked up, although her face wasn't in sight because of her cap. He was probably a 'senpai'. "Are you the 'Super Freshman'?"

"Super freshman..?" She thought for a second who can that person, not taking into measures that it's her by any chance. Then it hit her, "Ah.. there." She pointed at Horio, still with the same extremely straight face.

"That guy?" The older guy said. "I see, he stands out with that colorful outfit.. Thanks." He waved to the bored girl and stomped to the 'super freshman'.

Horio was bragging while the older kid warned him from his nonsense, and not long after, Arai arrived, clearing the mistake of who really was the 'super freshman'. "That bastard, making fun of me!"

* * *

It was soon after-school practice. Horio bragged about how Seigaku Tennis Club's Captain, Tezuka, went undefeated. Only to be mocked by the other two freshmen, saying how this isn't something for him to brag about.

"But, Echizen.." Horio warned about how bad will it be if she was hated by the juniors. "That Arai-san seemed rather strict about high-low relationships..."

But she didn't care, her face was still straight. _Why _did _she have _to practice with the freshmen? Their practice was so simple that if she continued it for three straight days, she wouldn't get tired. "He must really hate you!" Horio panicked. "Huh?"

"AAAH!" He pointed at her. "That's.. That's.. AAH! Why did _you _have to sit on _Arai-san_'s jersey?!"

"Huh? Ah.." She looked at it, not scared or anything, and stood up with her hands in her pocket. "Oh well."

"It's not 'Oh well'.. Treating a senpai's property like this.." Horio sighed.

As they were about to get out, Arai and his 'gang' bumped heads with them. Echizen didn't even care to look at them. She had changed quickly away from the other freshmen's eyes, and walked past her senpais with an informal greeting like she always does. "Hey! Was that supposed to be a greeting to me?!"

She stopped for a second in case he'd say something useful. But as usual, nothing except trash. So she just walked away, angering him yet again. "You b... Che!"

Not long after, the older kids walked in to change. Arai didn't even think twice before speaking about the 'heralded newcomer'. "I _must _find a way to embarrass him in front of everyone.."

* * *

"So, Tezuka? Found a way to divide the blocks? You do know that it will decide the regulars, too. Must be tough." Ryuzaki smiled.

"Yeah." Tezuka, tennis club's captain, nodded politely. "I heard.. Ryuzaki-sensei had someone in mind.. Like, someone from the _freshmen_.." Oishi emphasized.

"It doesn't matter what I think, and our freshmen can't play in a ranking match until summer," Ryuzaki laughed it off. "_Though_, the captain _can _make an exception.."

"Well, it does depend on the captain.." Oishi agreed, and they both eyed each other and then looked at Tezuka. It was quite obvious what were they doing.

* * *

The freshmen collapsed, excluding Echizen, and complained about how hard the training was. Echizen just sighed and muttered as she tugged her cap closer to her face, "Mada Mada Dane."

"Freshmen! Stand up! Next on the queue is 50 sit-ups! Stop slacking off!"

"No way!"

"I just joined!"

"I won't last till the end of this day!"

* * *

The two reporters arrived at the tennis courts. "There's Echizen Ryoma." Inoue said with a smile, but then noticed that the freshmen, well basically he only looked at Echizen, were only doing basic training. "Hmm.. Until summer, they can only do basic training. What a shame, it must be impossible for him to play in the ranking tournament.."

Just as Echizen finished her 50 sit-ups before all the freshmen, Horio panicked. "Echizen, Echizen! They're here!" He whispered to her.

"Who?" She turned around and 'Ugh.'

A staring contest went around for 5 seconds until Arai broke it off. "Che!" He turned around to see the kid's tennis bag, 'This arrogant brat brings 3 rackets with him?'

"Hey you, listen, don't you dare brag just because you can play a _little _tennis, understand?" He threatened. "The regulars return today. If you keep this up, this Arai-sama will.."

"Oh!"

"Ah!"

He stopped talking as the freshmen's little awes were heard. The regulars appeared, amazing all the freshmen, except our stoic little brat.

"Th-They're here!" Horio exclaimed.

Arai turned around and felt the overwhelming aura, finally, shutting him up. Five confident looking boys entered, and Echizen only scowled at the sudden silence of everyone around her.

The other freshmen grinned happily, and the reporters just smiled. "Oh, the regulars have arrived!" Inoue said while Shiba took pictures.

"Cheers!" All of the tennis club members bowed and cheered, except Echizen who had stood up now and had her hands in her pockets.

"We want the newcomers to feel right at home, so pick an open court and start hitting." Oishi said with a gentle smile.

The freshmen beamed at the thought of _finally _playing tennis. "Yay!"

"Yosh!"

"Hey, hey, it _must _be _him_!" Horio pointed at Oishi, "The captain, Tezuka, who went undefeated!"

"So _that_'s him!" Kachirou smiled.

"He has such a presence!" Katsuo awed.

"_Oishi_." The brown-haired boy called.

"Hm?" Oishi turned around with his usual smile. "We should hit some light balls, too."

"Sure, Fuji. Let's do it until Tezuka arrives."

Kachirou and Katsuo gave Horio 'the look', "Doesn't _look _like he's Tezuka-buchou."

Horio, embarrassed, looked away and whistled.

_PONK!_

_PONK!_

_PONK!_

All the freshmen stopped and were practically amazed, exclude Echizen on that, on how wherever Oishi lobs the ball, the regulars _always _smash it back into the basket.

"W-Wow.. I've never seen such a smash practice.." Horio commented.

"Our senpais are great as usual," Arai grinned. "Hey! You understand now?!" He yelled in Echizen's direction.

'Hm?' She turned around.

"Just because you can _luck _out on a Twist Serve doesn't mean you can compete in the ranking matches."

As if he knew, Oishi lobbed a ball too far. "Ah, too far!" And to where exactly? To Echizen's direction.

'Oh, chance.' She thought with that stoic face of hers. She got in position, perfect stance, and smashed the ball into a basket. It was smashed so hard that another ball flew outwards. The freshmen gaped, and don't forget Kachirou's racket which fell from his hand.

The regulars just looked at the kid, each with their different expressions. Arai looked at the smashed ball's direction still gaping, until he turned around at the petite girl.

She rested her racket on her shoulder and gave out a wide smirk, "It's unexpectedly simple."

Snap. Arai couldn't keep it any longer, and grabbed her by her shirt, catching her by surprise. "Damn you and your arrogance, don't get on your high horse so fast, there's no room for you annoying freshmen!" He clenched his fists.

"A-Ah!" Oishi was worried. "S-Sto-"

_BAM!_

"E-Echizen!" Horio yelled.

"Ryoma-kun!" The other two of the trio did, too.

Echizen sat there on the floor, a hand on her left cheek.

"O-Oi!" Oishi yelled. The other regulars stood there in shock, Echizen just gave him a deadly stare, and was about to provoke Arai even more when..

"What is all this about?" Tezuka appeared, still looking stoic, but the hint of concern and worry was evident in his eyes. Arai panicked, realizing he has done the undone. 'Oh shit.'

"Buchou!" Everyone, exclude the freshmen, the regulars, and Arai, called. Not knowing if it was the right time yet, they still cheered, except the regulars and Echizen.

"What's going on here?"

"E-Eh.. W-Well.." Arai stuttered as he was explaining.

"Never mind. Penalty for causing a disturbance. Run 10 laps around the court, both of you."

"W..Wait, B-Buchou, t-this is.."

"20 laps." He added sternly.

Echizen stood up and sighed, tugging her cap closer to her face. At least it didn't fall off. 'Che.' She ran off to start her laps.

"B-But Buchou.. H-He st-"

"30 laps for Arai. You'll have to start running if you don't want the count to increase." He said stoically. Arai knew better than to argue more, so he just shut himself up. 'Che! Because of that bastard! I'll make him pay!'

"Everyone warm up!" Tezuka ordered. "When they're done, juniors and seniors will enter the courts! Freshmen, prepare for ball fetching!"

"Yes!"

"Tezuka.." Oishi called. "Ah, yes." They both left to finish some unfinished work.

"Too bad, Arai~!" His friends teased. He glared at them and then noticed Echizen's tennis bag behind them. 'Heh..'

"Oi, you guys, lend me your ears a bit.."

* * *

The sun was setting slowly, when Echizen was done with her laps. There wasn't a single drop of sweat, though. The other freshmen were swinging their rackets. "Okay, 20 more and you're done! Keep it up!"

"Oh, Ryoma-kun! You're done with 20 laps already?" Kachirou exclaimed, not forgetting to continue swinging the racket.

"You seem calm." Katsuo said, doing the same thing.

"The freshmen have to do 100 swings, hurry up and join!" Horio told her, not noticing here eyes looking left and right. "Yeah." She just said as she looked around more.

"Huh?" Horio said. "Did you forget your racket, Echizen?"

"No." She just looked at the same spot. 'I'm sure I left the bag here.'

"You're pretty confident to come without your racket."

"Are you saying that you don't need basic training?"

"But he's the 'heralded newcomer'." The older trio laughed, while the girl just stared at them coldly. "Not slacking off, are you?"

"This..This is bad.." Horio and the other two of the trio panicked.

"If you're so confident, face me now. But, if you don't have a racket.." He eyed his friend who was crouching on the ground with a smirk.

"Here, Arai." He handed him the dusty, old racket back from the changing room. Arai threw the racket lightly at Echizen, "Here, take this extra one."

"The strings are loose and the frame is in shambles.." Kachirou got worried, and all the other freshmen had gathered around them.

"You can't use this, Ryoma-kun.." Katsuo exclaimed.

"What's wrong? Won't face me? You heralded newcomer." Arai snickered.

'Arai-san is so dirty.. He knows Echizen can't use junk like this to play a game..' Horio panicked yet again.

She just stared coldly at the older boy. 'What a waste of time.' She wasn't going to do it. She wasn't afraid, definitely. But then again, he wouldn't make much of a challenge, would he?

"Oh. Hey." The red-head called the glasses guy. He jerked his head towards the freshmen group when his friend looked at him. "Seems like Arai is causing trouble with the freshmen again.."

"What should we do? Stop them?"

"They'll get scolded again when the captain comes back."

"Hmm.." Fuji smiled as he rested his chin on his fingers, while Kaidoh didn't even look twice. "Che."

"This racket fits you perfectly, freshmen. Learn from this and never show off again!"

She sighed. 'Whatever.' Not long as she turned around to walk away, what he said caught her attention.

"If that happens, your three rackets _might_ show up again." They laughed it off while the freshmen gaped in shocked. She turned around quickly, her eyes moved for a second but then stopped and glared. She tugged her cap lower again, this time with a little more power and fury, rested the dusty racket on her shoulder, and headed to the court right beside her.

"H-Hey, Echizen.. W-Where.." Horio tried to stop her.

"There are some... who play tricks because they're weak." She had just obviously accused him for the theft. Horio, once again, panicked.

"What? Are you saying _I _hid it?!" Arai raised his tone.

"Who knows?" She adjusted her foot to the ground and gave him a side-glare. "Okay, let's play."

Arai was taken aback by her extreme confidence (and arrogance). "Hmm.. I want to see more of this." Fuji widened his already-wide smile.

"I knew you were going to say that." Kikumaru, the red-head, said with a pout.

"You're confident. I'll completely crush you, capped brat."

'That idiot! With that racket, no matter what, the match is already decided!' Horio worried. The reporters thought it was impossible, too. Seconds after that, Tomoka and Sakuno arrived at the scene.

The match started, and it was looking bad for Echizen at the beginning; at least for the first two points only. Once the second ball was Arai's point, she knocked on the strings, "Hmm, I see."

"Fool, trying to be tough. But you have no chance in hell!" He served the ball, only for it to be returned perfectly with Echizen twisting her body to add spin on the ball. Though the impact sound from the racket was still there, and don't forget the girl's killing glare.

Arai was left in shock as everyone cheered, though each in their own way. "He hit it.."

"Ryoma-sama!"

"Wow, Inoue-san!"

"Wow, he put a spin on it by rotating his body!" Kikumaru beamed.

"He's good." Fuji added quickly.

"No way! He returned it with that piece of junk?!" Someone reminded them of how _he _was _winning _by using a piece of _junk_.

"Maybe it's not _that_ old?"

"That's not true, the sound of the impact was strange."

"Eh?! But, that ball was _extremely_ fast!"

"That was slow." She mentioned.

Arai got angry and continued with the match, astonished by how this brat could hit it with such a racket, 'I can't lose!'

"'A great calligrapher doesn't need to choose his pens.' Fits perfectly for this situation, don't you think?" Fuji smirked, which was quite scary.

'Damn! At this rate, _I_'ll be the laughing stock!' Arai cursed.

Echizen continued to make a fool out of the fool. "That freshmen is awesome!" People mentioned. Inoue gaped in recognition and awe.

"Awesome, Ryoma-kun!" Kachirou and Katsuo yelled, cheering her on as she was still glaring at the older boy. 'He better give me my rackets back.'

"Che, what a fool. Losing face for the juniors." Kaidoh hissed and walked away.

"Oi, Kaidoh.." Inui called.

"Washroom break." He assured.

"Well, my warm up is done." Echizen said as she let some air cool her by pulling her shirt a little, not sweating at all. Her glare was still there, though.

Horio warned her about a loose string, but she let it pass. "Oh, really? No worries." She stretched out her arm and placed the racket on her shoulder. "We're going to finish this, _Senpai_." She said with an over-confident smile. She was definitely not gonna lose this.

Arai backed off. "A-Ahaha.."

"O-Oi, oi.. Let's just leave it here.." One of his friends said.

"It's just practice.." The other one backed him up.

"No." She quickly, and bluntly, stated. Oh, how much fun is this going to be. Her smirk grew wider, and she served.

"So, Tezuka, what do you think?" Oishi asked his captain, who was watching everything from the beginning with him.

"I don't condone breaking the rules. Make everyone run laps."

"Eh? Everyone? Even the regulars?"

"Everyone!" He repeated as he closed the door behind him, leaving Oishi and Ryuzaki alone.

"Well, well..." Oishi chuckled as he looked back at the match.

Ryuzaki smiled as she looked at the ranking matches' entries. "Oya? What's this?" She smirked as she looked at the last name of the D-Block paper. 'Echizen Ryoma (1st year)'.

* * *

Almost everyone left. Echizen was packing her stuff while the trio were waiting for her. "Ne, Ryoma-kun.." Kachirou fidgeted.

"What?"

"Your cheek.. Does it hurt?"

"No."

"A-Are you sure? It looked like it hurt.."

"Y-Yeah, Ryoma-kun! There's no way it wouldn't have hurt you! And you're extra small, too!" Katsuo was obviously worried, but no matter, she still twitched at the mention of her being small. And he said 'extra small'. Extra small, he said.

"Hmm.. So, Echizen, if I punch you on the same spot, it wouldn't hurt, right?" Horio tried to make sure she wasn't hurt, but he wouldn't look all worried like the other two! That was SO uncool! ...At least for him.

But all he got was a deadly glare. "Bye." She got her stuff and left the club room, not noticing the regulars far away.

"R-Ryoma-kun! Are you really sure your cheek doesn't hurt?" Kachirou said again while following again, grabbing the attention of the regulars.

She stopped in the middle of the way, turned around at him and gave him a blank expression. "You're not my mother." She said bluntly and turned away to go home. 'Must reach home before the swell becomes evident.' She glared at nothing when she remembered the punch. 'What is wrong with him anyways?'

* * *

**Ah well, seems like I finally got another chapter out xx One week of finals is done, and I'm left with two more day of examinations~ I'll probably have more free time to write! Hmm, well, I hope you guys enjoyed this xx Bye then ~ !**


	4. Interesting

**Oh, sorry, I haven't replied to the reviews, have I? Well, I will now.**

**jafcbutterfly - Chapter 1: Thanks xx**

**Guest - Chapter 1: Thanks xx Hm, well, about the romance part, even by the end of this, there will be no steady couple. I wrote this story for a lot of reasons, but I guess one of the main reasons is that I could decide on an OTP, since I pair fem!Ryoma X LOTS, and I just don't know which pair is supposed to be my OTP xD There will spark between Atobe and Ryoma, Yukimura and Ryoma, but Fuji and Ryoma will only be friendship. Haha, thanks xx**

**EV3RL4STING SER3N4DE - Chapter 1: Thanks xx**

**Guest - Chapter 2: Haha xD Hmm, maybe xD Thanks, hopefully I will.**

**EV3RL4STING SER3N4DE - Chapter 2: Thanks xx**

**Mutsumi Ayano - Chapter 2: Thanks for the advice, it is good xx I will try my best to show more of the plot, though I personally think it's hard to show it at the beginning, I will try my best!**

**Yuu (Guest) - Chapter 2: I love Ryoma, too xD!**

**Just Wait And See - Chapter 2: Thanks! Hehe, I like him/her better that way, anyways xx I hope that I can write more, too!**

**Guest - Chapter 3: Thanks xD! Yes, both!**

**Mutsumi Ayano - Chapter 3: Yes, I did xx Thanks! I wonder, too, haha xx**

**Suebsas (Guest) - Chapter 3: Thanks! Yeah, she is xD I will!**

**Ah, well, I forgot to say this in the previous chapter, but there is a poll (on my profile) where I would love your help to decide the ending couple.. or something like that. Anyways, onto the story!**

* * *

[Interesting!]

"Ryoma-san!" Nanako called. "Breakfast is ready!" She smiled as she saw the younger girl coming downwards, but was quite confused with her outfit.

"Ryoma-san?"

"Sorry, not now, Nanako-san! I'll be late for school!"

"But-" She grabbed a slice of bread in her mouth and ran outside, not letting the older girl continue her sentence or stop her. "...it's _Sunday_.." It was silent after the door was shut for a couple of minutes, but the silence was quickly broken with the younger girl's mother's chuckle.

"What a child." She smiled, causing Nanako to smile too. After all, no matter how rude (or bratty...or selfish...or self-centered) the girl was, she was likable (kind of) and well..

...quite nice. Inside, at least.

* * *

'Shikuso! I'm _so_ late! Why didn't anybody wake me up?!' She ran until the gates and stopped to catch her breath. No, she wasn't tired. It was because of the continuous thinking about how late she is. 'Oh, shit! The gate is closed already?! Shi-'

"Hm? What are you doing here, student?" A man interrupted her cursing.

"Going to school, obviously." She said coldly, but politely. She _did _study manners, after all, and how to _actually _use them and on who exactly, you know.

"Oh, really?" He chuckled. "But, if I'm not mistaken, today is Sunday, isn't it?" He scoffed, trying to hide his laughter. A long silence passed by, and the man was afraid the girl turned into a statue, but she still had that stoic face of hers.

"...Eh?" She blinked continuously after realizing. "Eh...? ...EH?!" She yelled, not so loudly though, uncharacteristically. He smiled at himself to have such a thought pass his mind when he has just met the girl.

"A-Ah.. Sorry..." She said in a polite manner before closing her eyelids and starting to think. '...Nanako-san _did _try to stop me..'

She scowled at her own forgetfulness. 'How stupid.' She sighed, "Sorry, Ossan." She bowed slightly before getting her bag, and tennis bag, which were now lying on the ground.

The man smiled and thought about something before asking the girl a question, "..Why are you cross-dressing, dear?"

"I'm not." She replied flatly, but not before being just a _little _surprised about how fast he recognized that she was a girl. Not everyone can know, and it (meaning the boys' uniform) hides her chest pretty well, too.

"Then.."

"It's more comfortable. Or, its _comfortable_. The girl's uniform isn't. At all."

"Ah, I see." He smiled.

"Well, I suppose I have to go now." She just bowed slightly, but politely, with her face expression-less (as always).

"Hmm.. What an interesting girl." The man smiled as he walked away. "Hoho, I'm late for work. I suppose I should be going, too."

"...Tennis, huh?" He said to no one in particular after a long silence with himself.

* * *

It was quite the refreshing day. The air was filled with peace and serenity, too.

...Well, excluding a specific heroine's aura. Having to wake up to go to school after _thinking_ she was late, and discovering it was a day-off, not to mention that she isn't a morning person, was definitely a bad start for the day.

She made sure her glares would send all the girls away, as she was still wearing the school uniform, and the boys' one, at that. She didn't go back home, after all. Oh, how humiliated would she be if her father discovers this incident.

He would mock her all day, and maybe even continue it for a couple of days. And no, she was _not _ready for it, not when this day has already began with a humiliating, stupid, disastrous act.

'...Ponta,' came to her mind not a second after thinking how to feel better. She finished three cans in the blink of an eye. 'Hmm... Not enough.'

She kept on buying more and more, not realizing she was slowly using all her change up, and not realizing that someone was watching her with amused eyes. 'How interesting.'

"Ah.." She rummaged through her pocket again, but too bad, she was out of change already. "Che, what's this.. I only drank 50 cans.."

Then her stomach growled, and she blushed slightly, hoping nobody heard. "...That's right. I only ate a slice of bread.." She sighed and decided to head home, but not before a random dog jumps on her.

"Uwah..!" She fell on the ground, with the small dog licking her face. "Wha..?"

"Woof! Woof!" It looked as if he was smiling.

"Caught you!" A little boy took hold of the dog and stopped its struggle to go loose.

"Gomen, nii-san!" The young boy grinned as he scratched his back.

"Hm, whatever. Just take good care of it, some others won't exactly let you off for this." She patted his head as she walked away.

"Uh.. Hai..." The boy's eyes sparkled - he had instantly admired the girl. "Thank you, nii-san!"

As he was running off, she sighed again and started to head home. 'I'm hungry.'

'What an interesting boy.' A boy, who looked older than the girl, laughed. He was lying on a, probably, hospital bed, with the window open so he can clearly look at everyone passing by or deciding to take a rest here.

"Hm? What's wrong, Seiichi-kun?" The nurse noticed his laughter. Sure, he was rather optimistic about his stay here although he obviously didn't like it, but he wouldn't laugh for no reason. A bunch of his friends, she thought, do come by, but he wouldn't laugh so open-heartily like this.

"Ah, it's nothing." The blue-haired boy smiled.

* * *

**Sorry for the inactivity and the long wait, got busy with different matters. Oh yeah, ****I think it was (kind of) a bad idea to put that poll, especially that Yukimura's fan are spamming this site, haha xx Honestly, to shorten the list, I can't choose between Atobe, (maybe) Yukimura, Sanada, Tooyama, Tokugawa, Ryoga, Kirihara, if I really have to shorten it, then these.. XD Actually, much more, but at least I _tried _to shorten it.. And.. I know this is short.. And kind of a filler, but please bear with me :))**


	5. The Man Called The Viper

**Guest (1) - Chapter 4: Of course, guest votes are counted. My sister's vote is counted too so, Atobe and Yukimura are equal now, haha.**

**Guest (2) - Chapter 4: Hm, maybe a random man or someone that will appear later, I don't know, haha. Yes, both will be evident throughout the story, and these two are the ones that appear early.**

**Eeh.. Too many Yukimura fans are spamming this site ._. Well, in the end, the final say goes to me, mwahaha xD Anyways, onto the story.**

* * *

[The Man Called The Viper]

"Until now, Echizen showed off a _lot_," Horio smiled proudly, for no apparent reason that he should. "But that won't happen anymore."

"Why is that? He played on par with Momoshiro-senpai, you know.." Katsuo blinked.

"Well, Momo-senpai had an injured leg, so he wasn't playing seriously. If a Seigaku regular member played for _real, _Echizen wouldn't stand a chance!"

"But I'm still going to cheer for Ryoma-kun!" Kachirou quickly protested. "All of us freshmen will be counting on him!"

Katsuo nodded in agreement. "That's true. Ah, Ryoma-kun!" He called as he turned around.

She just ignored their calls and kept on walking with her eyes closed.

"Ryoma-kun, we're cheering you on!" Kachirou assured.

"We're counting on you to beat the regular members!" Katsuo smiled.

"Fsshhhhhhhhh.." Kaidoh hissed at their cheering while the freshmen panicked, excluding the girl. "Hey, freshmen!"

"Y-Yes!" They stood up straight, _very_ straight.

"Stop slacking off! Now go!" Kaidoh yelled at them as they panicked and flew off. "Yes, sir! Excuse us!"

Echizen didn't say anything as she was about to go too. "Hey." Kaidoh called.

"Yeah?" There was absolutely no sociability between them. Kaidoh glared strongly as she just stared blankly - but strongly, at him (he didn't see her face, tho. He just felt it). Her cap was, as always, close to her face.

The staring contest went on for a while until Kaidoh broke it off. "Aren't you a freshman?"

"Yes, I'm leaving now." But she didn't just walk away with just that. "Oh, how scary.." She tilted her head and mocked with a smirk - not that he could see her face from looking at her back, anyways.

* * *

"That was close!" Kachirou exclaimed as he and the other two freshmen panted from the extremely fast round they have ran to escape from Kaidoh's wrath.

"Wasn't that Kaidoh-senpai?" Katsuo asked the two.

"Yeah." Horio nodded. "He's also one of Echizen's opponents in block D at the ranking tournament."

"Block D? Ah, that's right.." He looked at the charts. "Ryoma-kun's name really _is _there!"

"Oh right, so what's this ranking tournament anyways?" Kachirou asked as both him and Katsuo didn't exactly know what was it, causing Horio to anime-fall.

"Hey, hey! What the hell are you saying?! I can't believe you're in the tennis club!" Horio yelled. "A ranking tournament is when seniors and juniors play every year to determine the regulars! There are also 4 blocks with 12 people, hence, 8 regular members are chosen!"

"Is Ryoma-kun participating in this tournament, too?!" Kachirou grinned.

"Well, _obviously_, or his name wouldn't be there." Horio twitched. No wonder he didn't like beginners without the important two years of tennis experience!

"Wow, that's our Ryoma-kun!" Katsuo exclaimed.

"Ahem, anyways, and if you become a regular member, you can wear that blue and white jersey!" He exclaimed excitedly as he pointed to Oishi, who was wearing his regular jersey.

"You sure know a lot, Horio-kun!" Kachirou said in an amazed tone with a smile.

"I've had two years of tennis experience! Oh, and, the name of the jersey is great, too. It's the 'Seigaku' regular jersey!" He said loudly.

"That's so straightforward." Kachirou said as he and Katsuo wore a blank face, and Horio anime-fell again. "W-Well, don't read too deeply into it.."

"Hey, you three. Shouldn't you all be putting up the nets?" Oishi said sternly.

"Yes! Please allow us!" They yelled in chorus as they headed to do their work.

* * *

Somewhere else, Sakuno was practicing her swings alone in a not-so-glorious form.

"It feels different.." She pouted, but quickly let it pass and was determined to give it her best. "All right!"

After a couple of tries, she stopped. "Hmm... It still feels strange.." She tried swinging again but was hit lightly on her calves, causing her to bend. "Aaah! Ryoma-kun!"

The said girl ignored the call and started walking away. "You bend your knees too much, and don't flip your wrists like that.."

Sakuno blinked at the air and then smiled. "Ah, advice.."

"You opened your shoulders too wide, and your hair's too long.. You should cut it." The older girl blushed slightly and pouted. "Moou.."

Not long after the younger girl disappeared, yells and screams were heard. "Eh?" Sakuno only turned around to see a bunch of fan girls dashing past her. "The ranking tournament might be starting already! Run even if you die! We have to see who is that freshman that's playing!"

"Yeah!"

"Quickly!" Sakuno just gaped lightly and then blushed in joy. "Ryoma-kun must be in it.. After all, she didn't join the girls' team but the boys' tea- AH!" Sakuno gaped in shock. 'That's right! How did I forget?! She's in the _boys' _team!'

"SAKUNO!" Tomoka yelled in her ear with a scary face, disrupting her thoughts. "Don't gape and think, people will think you're mad or something! Anyways, something's up!"

"T-Tomo-chan..?"

"We're going to Ryoma-kun's match! We're going to cheer him on! HURRY!" She glared fiercely so the other girl knows that she has to run. And by run I mean _run_.

Sakuno yelled as she was caught from her wrist and dragged along. "T-Tomo-chaaaan!"

The girl sighed as she thought about it. 'Hm, I still haven't asked Ryoma-kun why did she join the boys' tennis club.. Next time, I'll remember to ask..!'

* * *

Echizen opened the door, ignoring the gossiping that was happening between the juniors.

"Hey, look."

"Is that him?" Arai nodded as he glared.

"Echizen!" The freshmen trio ran up to her as Horio shot her a 'give it your best' look.

"It's almost time! Good luck!" Kachirou exclaimed.

"Show them what you got, Ryoma-kun! We'll be cheering for you!" Katsuo smiled.

"Look, even the senpais are interested in you." Horio wanted to warn him and all, but not before they were cut off by a racket coming in between the girl and the trio.

"Fsshhhh. You're in my way. Move." Kaidoh quickly warned.

"Excuse me, Kaidoh-senpai!" Horio yelled as the trio backed off, far, far away. This wasn't over. Kaidoh glared from the corner of his eyes, and this time, Echizen returned the favor (he just felt it, though. He couldn't see the kid's face again. He wondered why was the cap always close to his face), and their (quiet) glaring contest began.

"That Kaidoh.. The matches didn't even begin." Inui sighed.

"He's already in battle mode. As if he already know he'll be facing the freshman." Oishi smirked.

"Well, the percentage of the freshman winning and proceeding to a match with Kaidoh is-"

"Now, now, don't spoil it on us, Inui."

Everyone sensed the killing aura round them as they still continued glaring at each other, until Kaidoh, again, decided it was time to stop. He still thought about it; that freshman, unlike all the others, didn't even flinch. He was quite the unique one. Not like he's gonna admit this or anything. It didn't matter if he was fighting him or not, he was going to win either ways.

Echizen just tugged her cap even lower, and started hitting her racket on her shoulder as the juniors around glared.

"Everyone in block D is ready." Inui stated.

"Inui, you're pretty calm. Aren't _you_ in block D?" Oishi asked.

"I am also in battle mode, don't worry about me." He smirked to a confused Oishi as he looked through his notes.

* * *

"Today's ranking matches will be quite interesting. They have allowed one freshman to participate, after all... Let's go, Shiba." Inoue stated as he and his fellow subordinate got off the car.

"Yes, Inoue-senpai!"

* * *

"Game won by Echizen! 3-0!"

"Alright! Ryoma-kun did it again!" Katsuo exclaimed happily. Tomoka and Sakuno didn't hide their grins, either.

"Echizen has completely dominated this match!" Horio smiled. "Eh? Where's Kachirou?"

"Uhh.. Now that you mention it.. He's not here.."

Cheers were heard all over the place as Oishi and Kikumaru were playing some people, in singles, though. "That's amazing.." Horio and Katsuo mumbled, only to be interrupted.

"KYAAAA! RYOMA-SAMA! KYAAAA!" The poor juniors and seniors who were standing right beside Echizen Ryoma Fan Club's members covered their ears in hope that the voices will lessen, but to no avail.

The fan girls yelled, especially Tomoka, who was also holding a sign, while Sakuno blushed in embarrassment.

The two boys, which were missing one to complete their cheer leading trio, sweat-dropped. "That's amazing, too..." Kachirou added as Horio agreed.

* * *

Tezuka watched Echizen's matches until he was interrupted by Sumire. "He must make you worry."

"No, not really."

"Game and set! Won by Echizen! 6-0!"

"Awesome! Awesome! Awesome! Kyaaaaa! Ryoma-samaaa!" All the girls present yelled, excluding Sakuno, who was still blushing in embarrassment (and in awesomeness of the girl).

"Such awesome cheers.. Feels like the professional circuit, ne, Inoue-senpai?" The said man nodded.

"Ah, Shiba-san!" Sakuno, who was the only sane girl present (except Echizen - and Shiba, too), greeted the older woman.

"Ooh, Ryoma-kun is playing well. It's amazing to beat someone without losing any games."

"Look, Inoue-senpai.. He's not sweating at all." Shiba said in amazement. "The other juniors can barely breathe!"

Nobody, not even the two boys approaching her, noticed the small, teeny tiny smile (or was it smirk?) that she had on her face. Well, of course they wouldn't. It was barely even there, and her cap was too close to her face for anyone to see it (her face, that is).

"He's so relaxed.." Shiba said with an amazed tone yet again.

* * *

In an another place, Kaidoh was playing his match, and Kachirou was shocked as hell. "T-This.." He was (probably) recording a video of his senpai's match.

* * *

"After lunch, your final match is with Kaidoh-senpai, then you're done." Katsuo reminded.

"It might be a bit too hard to beat a senior, but maybe you can win if it was a junior!" Horio exclaimed.

"Ah.." She let her head slide down slightly, causing the two boys to worry.

"What's wrong?" Katsuo gaped, standing up.

"Are you okay, Echizen?" Horio put a hand on her shoulder.

"I'm hungry." She said blankly after moments of silence while putting a hand on her belly. Horio's head fell quickly. "Man, you're not nervous at all.."

"Well, we're doing the 'nervous' part for him, haha.." Katsuo chuckled sheepishly, but the reason quickly changed to the fact that Horio's stomach growled loudly.

"A-Ah!" He blushed slightly as Echizen blinked at him, and the other boy just laughed.

* * *

Back at Kaidoh's match, Kachirou was still amazed and shocked at his senpai's play style, not long after, a ball went into his direction. "Uwaaaah!"

* * *

Oishi was recording the results of the matches when Echizen approached him. "Block D. Echizen Ryoma, 6-0."

"Yes.. Okay!" Oishi smiled as he wrote yet another score of 6-0 to Echizen's favor on the board.

* * *

"Ieyahahahahaha!" Horio laughed like a maniac and spit out the food in his mouth as he was talking. "You have two straight wins even in this ranking tournament! You're great, Echizen!"

"Horio-kun," Katsuo reminded as he held his bento far, far away from Horio's saliva. "You're the one who said that it will be hard for Ryoma-kun to win."

"Against a regular, that is.. But, if he keeps playing like this.. He may even beat Kaidoh-senpai!" Horio bragged as if _he_'s the one who's done all the work.

Just then, the door opened. "Oh, Kachirou! Where did you go?" Horio asked. "...And, what happened to your eye?!" He gaped at the now-brown right eye of his.

"Oh, I was trying so hard to tape that I got hit by a ball.. Anyways, forget that! We've got a problem! Look at this!" He showed them a video recorder. "I taped Kaidoh-senpai's match, and he's Ryoma-kun's next opponent!"

"What? Kaidoh-senpai's match?" Horio and Katsuo exclaimed in chorus, while Echizen remained nonchalant and continued eating her food. It didn't matter whatever was in that tape, she'd win anyway.

"Oooh, wow! But, you know, you missed Echizen's matches!"

"It's okay, I knew Ryoma-kun would win anyway!"

"So that's what were you doing, Kachirou-kun!"

"Anyway, it was incredible.. _Really _incredible!" He exclaimed.

"Ah, that's good." Echizen mumbled loudly, grabbing the trio's attention. "Maybe I can't win."

"Eh?" Kachirou tilted his head. "How can _you _say _that_, Ryoma-kun?" The trio gaped, but it faded away when they realized just who was he talking about.

"They sure are strong. Top pros." She said coldly.

Horio and Katsuo sweat-dropped as Kachirou yelled. "That's not right, Ryoma-kun! I taped it because I thought it could help! Can't you be a bit more worried?!"

She just closed her eyes and went out of the room. "Where are you going, Echizen?"

"Ryoma-kun!"

"He's just like that..."

"Let's go watch the video." Katsuo suggested as the other two boys agreed.

"Ooooh! It's coming on! I'm excited what kind of play style does Kaidoh-senpai have.."

"Shut up, Horio-kun! We want to watch, shhhh!" It wasn't long after the video started that Kaidoh started to do weird stances.

"What? What's up with his stance?" Kachirou gulped at Horio's comment. "I-It's coming.."

"T-This is.." Horio and Katsuo gulped after watching Kaidoh do 'that'.

* * *

Oishi was still sitting for any players to come and register their score, when Inui approached him. "Inui?"

"I'll switch shifts with you, so go eat."

"How is it?"

"Just like I thought. That freshman's winning, and he's doing better than I thought. He still hasn't lost a _single_ game."

"But, you already have an idea of how to beat him, right?" Oishi smiled as he stood up.

"I guess so." Inui shook the notebook in his hand.

"What an annoying notebook." He gave a disturbed look. "I don't like it."

"Anyways, the freshman will have to win a match before playing me. With the regular-"

"Fssshhhhh.."

"Oh, he's right here." Inui referred to Kaidoh who was sitting behind a bush. "A second year student, Kaidoh-kun."

"Are you trying to pick a fight, Senpai?" He shot him a (rather polite) glare.

* * *

"What's this? I've never seen this!" Horio panicked.

"It's a special play style." Kachirou explained. "Kaidoh-senpai seems to be nicknamed the 'Mamushi'."

"Mamushi? Why?"

"I haven't figured out that part, but.." They all intently stared at the screen, in which Kaidoh looked at it.

"Ah! He's looking over here!" And that's when the junior shot a ball to the freshman, and Kachirou held his eye in remembrance of the pain.

"This is dangerous for Echizen!" Horio panicked again. "It's just too difficult for a freshman to beat a regular! It's too difficult!"

"..Is it?" Katsuo said.

"Eh?"

"I still believe that Ryoma-kun can win." He stated firmly.

"Eh?! But didn't you_ just_ see _that _in the video?!"

"Ryoma-kun, he, he's no ordinary freshman! I'm pretty sure that you have already realized that by now!" Katsuo stood still on his opinion. "If it's Ryoma kun.. He can win!"

* * *

Sakuno ran as she was holding two bottles of drinks. 'Tomo-chan sure likes to use people..' She stopped, though, when she saw Echizen practice hitting a ball to the wall. That was one hell of a boring practice to the younger girl, indeed. 'Ah, Ryoma-kun..'

* * *

"There it is! Momo's Dunk Smash!" The cheers echoed as Momoshiro also won his match.

"Game won by Momoshiro. 6-0."

"It looks like his injured leg is okay now." Fuji said with the ever-plastered-on-his-face smile.

"I really thought he wouldn't make it this time!" Kikumaru exclaimed.

"Resting for more than a week makes my body numb. It's a goof rehab practice!" He grinned and walked away to store his racket.

"Rehab? Hehe, what a guy!"

* * *

Sakuno stood still and watched the girl, realizing then that she the ball to the exact same place every time.

"Is there something you want?" Echizen decided it was time to tell her that she was staying for too long.

"Ah, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to disturb you.."

"You're not really disturbing me... Do you want something?" She turned around, only for Sakuno to realize that he girl was hitting the ball to the wall with her eyes _closed_. Even now, she was hitting the ball with the racket, both of her eyes still closed. 'A-Amazing...'

"Uhh.. It's your match soon, so.." She stopped for a minute and then smiled. "Good luck!" She cheered in a voice louder than her usual.

Echizen stopped hitting the ball and stared at the girl for a second, in which she blushed.

"I can win without luck." She said after a minute or so of silence and started walking away.

Sakuno pouted. 'Mouu.. Oh, right! The question!'

"U-Umm.. R-Ryoma-kun..?"

"What?"

"Um.. Well.. Why are you.. In the boys' club.. Or, umm, why are you cross-dressing? So, umm, I'm not supposed to say anything, right..?"

She thought before replying to the girl. She could've ignored her, but she wasn't _that _much of a jerk. "Because the girls' tennis club isn't as strong, and is probably just slacking off. I'm not cross-dressing. It doesn't matter if you do or not." And with that, she walked away.

"...S-So straightforward.. She didn't even explain her points.."

* * *

Somewhere else, in a temple, a man yawned. "Man, I'm bored.."

"Meow!" A (Himalayan) cat meowed at the man.

"Oh, Karupin.. You came at a good time, I have something good.." He took out a rubber snake and smirked as the cat was confused.

* * *

Back at Seigaku's courts, Echizen entered in which she was still in her usual red and white attire.

"Yo!" Momoshiro greeted.

"Hello." She said quickly. Oh, he wouldn't start up a conversation now, would he? It was just _not _the right time! It's never the right time! She's supposed to only, and only, practice and play tennis. After all, her goal was to beat _him_, and she won't achieve it by slacking off or wasting her time on insignificant matters.

"Is Kaidoh your next opponent?"

"Uh, probably."

"Don't say 'probably'.." He grinned sheepishly. Man, was this kid hard to speak to! "You might not care, but.. Be careful of 'Mamushi'." He gave the girl a serious look, which grabbed her attention.

"Eh? Mamushi?" There weren't any snakes around here, were there?

"I'm talking about Kaidoh." He scoffed, clearing her doubts, realizing just how _not _nervous was she.

"Ah, sure." She said nonchalantly. Does anything _ever _grab the attention of this kid?

"I wonder if he understood.."

"Fshhhh.."

"Ah, it's Kaidoh-senpai!" Horio panicked.

"Finally, Echizen and a regular member." Kikumaru smirked. Oh, how much did he wait for this. He wasn't even sure who was going to win anymore!

"With Kaidoh as his opponent, I wonder how far can Echizen go.. It will be interesting." Inui stated, opening the lid of his pen. Oh, how much data could he get right now!

Kaidoh glared at his opponent, in which she glared back, and yet again, it was just 'felt' by Kaidoh, who was an expert at glaring. The air was tense, Tomoka even shut up and decided not to cheer until the match starts.

"The best of one set match! Echizen to serve!" Even though the referee announced the start of the game, she still hadn't served yet. Everyone around them gulped. A mamushi and an arrogant kid should _never _be put against or with each other. The air got tenser as Echizen served - a normal serve. And the rally started.

Kaidoh then hit a very high lob, in which Echizen returned it with a smash, causing her cap to fall from her head. But Kaidoh still hit it. Nevertheless, she returned it, but it still hit the net. It took moments for everyone to realize she had put a spin on the ball, and it fell on Kaidoh's side.

"...Fshhh..." Kaidoh hissed. At least now he knew how did the kid's glare look like. And it looked good- Scratch that.

Kikumaru whistled.

"He's quite the looker, isn't he?" Fuji's (devilish) smile grew wider.

"Hehe, isn't he?" Momoshiro grinned.

"Hmm.. No wonder he always tugs his cap closer to his face.. So he's the type who gets attention but doesn't exactly like it.. Ii data.."

"Eeeh.."

"That freshman's got some looks.."

Some (_most_) of them blushed. How much he looked like a girl! And a pretty one at that! Oh - he's a _guy_. They made sure to remember to go and check their sexual orientation at the end of the day.

Oops. Now she's done it. She sighed - internally though, as she put her cap back on and tugged it even closer to her face. Oh, how much was she _cursed _with this face. Every time, all the time.

"...Fi-15-0. Echizen leads."

"W-Wow..!" Horio exclaimed.

"If we close our eyes for a second, we'll miss the game play..!" Kachirou stated.

"But if Ryoma-kun plays like this, he might just win!" Katsuo grinned.

"Kyaaa! That's just like _my _Ryoma-sama!" Tomoka yelled as loudly as she can, deciding it was already the right time for her to cheer the kid on. The other fan girls cheered, too. The tennis club members sweat-dropped. _No wonder _he was being cheered by all of these girls at the beginning!

"That deserves a 'wow', too.." Horio said. "..But.. Kaidoh-senpai still hasn't shown _that _thing yet.."

* * *

Somewhere else, Nanjiroh was playing with Karupin and the rubber snake. "Hey, here! Try catching this, Karupin!"

.

.

.

...It's as if, the rubber snake was Kaidoh, and the cat was Echizen. Will the cat be able to capture the snake?

* * *

At the courts, just when Kaidoh ran to his left, Echizen found a blind spot. 'There!'

"Ooh! Nice! He hit the ball to Kaidoh's empty right side!" But no one noticed the mamushi smirking, except the opponent herself. '..What?'

"Oh! You did it, Ryoma-kun!" Katsuo exclaimed, but it didn't longer than two seconds for him and the other two freshmen to gape - at Kaidoh's familiar stance.

"Fsshhhhhhh..."

"He's in _that _stance!" Kachirou stated. Kaidoh hit the ball with the strings _and _the frame. Echizen ran to hit it, when the ball took another direction and flew to another side. "Uh!"

"There is it!" The freshmen trio yelled.

"15 all!" The referee announced.

"W-What was that just now.." Tomoka gaped.

"Just now, did the ball take a weird spin?" Sakuno worried. Will the girl be able to counter it? Of course she will, right..?

"His move came out sooner, Tezuka." Fuji said.

"It means that Kaidoh is serious."

"That's the technique we saw in the video!"

"That's Kaidoh's 'Snake'." Momoshiro explained. "_Only_ someone who has a long reach like Kaidoh can hit such a move. Starting from the right leg and shifting his weight to the left side, he can hit it with an abnormal spin. His appearance is like a mamushi, he even stands like one. He's a snake everywhere, even the face." He chuckled.

* * *

Back at the temple, Karupin is _yet _to catch that rubber snake, with all of those failed attempts.

"Come on, come on.. Don't lost to a snake." Nanjiroh 'encouraged' the cat while reading his beautiful (perverted) magazines.

Karupin stared at the rubber snake as if he was coming up with a counter - in which he did. He jumped and bit the snake's tail - and Nanjiroh's toe. "Ouch! Ouch! OOOOOUUUUCHHHHHH! I got bitten!"

* * *

"Ne, Sakuno, do you think Ryoma-sama will be okay...?"

"Apparently, it's too much for a freshman to play against a regular..." Shiba stated.

"Heh, returning it at that angle.." She smirked, changing her grip from her right hand, to her dominant, left hand. "Mada Mada Dane."

"Ah, right, the left hand!" Sakuno gasped, almost forgetting that the girl was actually left-handed.

"Now he's getting serious." Momoshiro said with amusement apparent in his eyes.

Just as the cat could grab the rubber snake, will the human-cat be able to capture the human-snake as well?


	6. Snake Shot

**Hehe, so, here's another chapter! Oh right, Happy Late Birthday Kin-chan! And happy birthday Akutsu! So anyways, I also used Mamushi instead of Viper for Kaidoh because... It just seemed wrong. Anyways, if you have any ideas and/or opinions, do tell me. And, I count guest and outer votes, so yeah. Anyways, I know it's still too similar to the original plot, but I'll try my best!**

**Guest (1) - Chapter 5: Haha xD! Well, hmm, at the end, she'll definitely be able to beat them. But of course, she might go through some hardships, but I guess she'll just win in the end. Yeah, these two pairs are awesome! Though I know that I prefer Royal more, haha xx**

**Guest (2) - Chapter 5: Yes, I agree xD On both your opinions, lol!**

* * *

[Snake Shot]

"Ah... So that's how you're returning it.." Echizen smirked as she switched her grip to her dominant, left hand. "Mada Mada Dane."

"Ah! The left hand!" Sakuno gasped, almost forgetting the girl was a lefty.

"Now he's getting serious." Momoshiro exclaimed with the excitement evident in his eyes.

Shiba gave a weird look as she took pictures. "Inoue-senpai.. Will Echizen-kun be able to hit with his left hand?"

"Maybe, let's see."

"The kid's left-handed." Sumire said with a smirk.

"Ah, Coach Ryuzaki.."

"The kid's no _ordinary_ freshman, either. Finally, Ryoma is ready for a battle."

'Ryoma-kun...'

Everyone stood there silently as she served again. Kaidoh observed the kid's movement and shot a slightly curved shot as his return.

"Snake again?!" Horio yelled.

"No, it's a normal return this time!" Momoshiro assured.

Their rally continued, with Echizen hitting deep and low. 'Oh ho... This freshman is good. He's hitting the balls low and deep towards the line.' Kaidoh thought. 'But...'

"This doesn't matter to me!" Kaidoh smirked as he hit another snake.

"It came out again, the Snake!" Kikumaru exclaimed.

'Hmm..' The ball she returned was barely hit.

"Echizen can barely returned the ball.." Kikumaru stood still.

'It's over!' Kaidoh smirked as he shot the ball, but Echizen returned it. Although it was an out, it was extremely close to the line.

"Out!" The referee announced.

"Just now, the ball was pretty close to the line!" Horio said, amazed.

"It's no good..." She tugged her cap closer to her face and went back to stand in position.

"Wow.. Both of them aren't giving an _inch_.." Horio gulped, causing Kaidoh to turn around with a half-glare.

"I-It's dangerous.."

"Heh, punk.." Momoshiro snickered.

"H-He can hear you.."

Shiba took pictures as the match progressed.

"Game won by Kaidoh! Game won by Echizen!"

"Ooh, the match is 1-1! Anyway, Echizen-kun is playing well against a regular member.."

The sun got hotter, and the weather was damp. "It sure is hot today, though.. Just watching the match makes me sweat.." Momoshiro whined.

"Tezuka, what do you think will happen?" Fuji asked as Echizen served the ball and their rally started once again.

'Finish!' Kaidoh yelled inside and shot a snake with his almighty scary glare.

"There is it! The snake is out again!" Horio panicked again, but Echizen ran and returned the ball at the right time.

"He hit it!" Horio yelled again.

'What footing... He was able to hit my finishing shot!' Kaidoh hit another snake to the complete opposite side of where was Echizen standing, in whih she ran and returned it.

'He's definitely an incredible freshman, but he just signed his death wish.' He thought with a smirk.

Kaidoh kept on hitting Snakes while Echizen kept on returning his shots. 'Hmm.. I see..'

"Ryoma-kun is returning all his shots. If he continues like this, he might have a chance!"

"Amazing!"

"Hey! Pictures! Pictures!" Inoue reminded Shiba who was mesmerized by their play.

"A-Ah! Hai!"

"...Definitely, he has _amazing _stamina.. But.." Inoue gulped.

Kaidoh still hit more Snakes, and Echizen kept on returning all of them. "He returned it again!" Horio exclaimed.

"Aahh.. Echizen has fallen into Mamushi's trap.." Momoshiro smirked.

"Trap?!" The freshmen trio gaped.

"Yeah," Momoshiro explained. "To Mamushi, his Snake technique is _not _just a technique. His true intention is.. It's.." He glared at the court.

As Kaidoh kept hitting Snakes - with a smirk which was plastered on his face, Echizen ran and ran to hit them back, and..

"Ah! Ryoma-kun is sweating a _lot_!"

"I see! It's because he's running to hit the Snake! Line to line.. He's rapidly losing his _stamina_!" Horio panicked.

Echizen panted, breathed in and out. Her face was sweaty, but it still looked angelic. Her cap was still on her head, though.

"Yeah, he's using his technique to exhaust his opponent. That's Mamushi's strategy." Momoshiro explained.

"So, every time he returns the Snake, he's getting more and more tired.." Katsuo said in a worried manner. "If this keeps up, Ryoma-kun will.."

"40-0!" The referee announced.

"But, Momoshiro-senpai seems to dislike Kaidoh-senpai.."

'Hmm?' Momoshiro heard his name between the trio.

"Ah, I think so too.."

"Ah! Maybe.." Horio turned around and snickered _with _a smirk. "He lost in the same situation.."

Momoshiro sweat-dropped, causing the trio to beam at their guess. "Ah! We were right!"

A vein popped on his head and he tackled them. "Be quiet! Shut up and focus on the game, the game!"

The scenario, with Kaidoh hitting snakes and Echizen losing his stamina, continued on, and Kaidoh smirked in his 'triumph'.

'He should be at his limit by now. He should start to..' But even though Kaidoh said (thought) that, the girl was still running and returning his balls.

'Strange.. He should have lost his energy by now..' Kaidoh quickly realized the ball was coming to him. 'What's with this speed..?! Where is he getting his strength from? It's weird, his shots are getting stronger and tougher!'

As time passed by, the shots Kaidoh received were indeed getting stronger and tougher, just as he sensed it. He was sweating a lot, too.

"Kaidoh-senpai, you sure are sweating a lot." Echizen mocked with a smirk as she hit another ball, giving her a point.

"40-30!"

"This is a good match." Fuji said, widening his smile.

* * *

Back at the temple, Nanjiroh was still looking at his (perverted) magazine as Karupin was shaking the 'now-dead' rubber snake.

"Uncle, I'm back." Nanako greeted.

Both Karupin and Nanjiroh turned to look at the young girl. Nanjiroh quickly blushed and hid his magazine behind him. "A-Ah! Na-Na-Nanako-chan... A-Are you going to college?"

"What are _you _talking about? I just said that I just came back."

"Welcome back, Nanako-chan." Rinko greeted.

"Ah.. Aunt, I'm back." She said with a smile.

"Honey, don't make a fool out of yourself.."

Nanako turned around at the man with an innocent look, when he blushed and scratched his head. "Ahahahaha.." ...And that's when the magazine fell from his hand, on a not-so-pleasant page. "A-Ah..."

"Ahhhhhh! My uncle is a _**pervert**_!" Nanako yelled, looking away with a blush.

"Don't look at it!" Nanjiroh yelled.

"Meoow!" Karupin meowed, as if he also thinks the man is a pervert, too.

"NANJIROH!" Rinko yelled, too. Man, was there some yelling in this house.

* * *

Echizen hit a ball, which was easy to return, but Kaidoh fell. His knees gave up on him. "Ah!" Everyone around them was shocked: Why?

"Game won by Echizen!"

"Eh.. Wh-What? Could Kaidoh be the one who's exhausted?" Kikumaru blinked a couple of times.

"Has Kaidoh still not realized it yet?" Fuji chuckled.

'It's not the ball that's getting faster.. Could it be.. That my reaction is.."

One again, Kaidoh fell, letting Echizen win another game.

"This is my first time seeing Kaidoh use the Snake for the whole game." Kawamura commented.

"This is the first time I've seen him out of breath." Kikumaru added.

"W-Why is Kaidoh-senpai tired?" Tomoka asked Sakuno, as if she had the answer.

"I have no idea, Tomo-chan.."

'_Again_, hitting to the line.. There's a _limit _to making a fool of me!'

Their rally continued on. 'No way.. Could it really be that..'

"Mamushi.. He got a taste from his own medicine.."

"What's going on? Echizen-kun is the one who should be tired.." Shiba said, confused.

"Kaidoh's plan was to use his Snake to make Echizen run around the court and take his legs away." Inui explained. "But Echizen cam back with that. Hitting deep and low makes Kaidoh bend his knees. This makes Kaidoh reach for the ball. It takes up 2-3 times his normal energy . Every time he returns the ball."

"30-0!"

"That is how he exhausted Mamushi." Momoshiro smirked. "Quite the scary lad, isn't he?"

After a minute of silence, Tomoka's eyes widened, with huge, very huge sparkles in them. "It sure is my Ryoma-sama!"

She, and the other fan girls, cheered. "The great Ryoma-sama is _extraordinary_! So COOL!"

'The one who fell for the trap..' Kaidoh panted heavily. '...Was it _me_?!'

"They're both tired, but realizing the hidden secret behind the other's technique, and not realizing it, has a big effect on you." Fuji said.

"The one who fell for the trap was Kaidoh.." Tezuka stated.

'I acknowledge I'm tired..' Kaidoh thought with a glare. 'But.. He's in the same state as me! If I lose my concentration, it'll all be over!'

.

.

.

"Game won by Echizen!"

.

.

.

"Game won by Kaidoh!"

.

.

.

"Kaidoh-senpai is still fighting.. Now he sees Ryoma-kun's trap.."

"If it ends up as an endurance battle, it'll be bad for Ryoma-kun..!"

'Hmm, I guess it's time..' Echizen thought with a straight face.

"Ne," She grabbed everyone's attention. "The Snake.. Isn't it.. The Buggy," She got in stance. "Whip," She hit the ball with an abnormal spin. "Shot!" And she hit it.

Everyone was shocked. And I meant _everyone_. Even Tezuka's face moved, his features changed. His eyes widened, and he gaped, but just a little. Fuji opened his eyes to show his blue orbs.

But Kaidoh was the one who was shocked the most. For that little chibi, to hit _his _signature move?!

Shiba lowered her camera in disbelief. "Ah.. ...Snake?"

Tomoka and Sakuno regained their composure and repeated in chorus, "Snake?"

All the fan girls just gaped.

"It was the Snake.."

"How did he?!"

"How did he do it?!"

"He managed to do the Snake.."

"Ryoma-kun is amazing!"

"...Hey, hey.. This isn't funny.." Momoshiro stared.

"Ne, Inoue-senpai, what was his move just now?"

"Buggy Whip Shot.."

"Buggy Whip Shot?"

"Using the centrifugal force, you put an high spin on the ball, by starting a loop from the bottom to the top. There are a lot of top world players who use this as a weapon. Kaidoh's Snake is an example of the move. _However_, it cannot be learned in a mere day."

'Could he have learned by watching me play.. No way.. He can't..'

"This is pretty complicated, Kaidoh-senpai.." She smirked. "Just recently, by chance, I read a detailed description of it in an article. I just tried it to see, but it's harder than it looks. Who would've thought you can do it too, Kaidoh-_senpai_?"

'Is it his technique? No, what worries me most is that he's winning. This match is almost over and he's playing against one of the best.' Tezuka thought.

"Match point! Echizen!"

"One more point and he wins!" Horio exclaimed.

'This isn't a _joke_! He's _only _a _freshman_! I.. I am _**Kaidoh Kaoru**_!'

But too bad, his attempt failed.

"Game and set! 6-3! Won by Echizen!" The referee announced the kid's win, much to a lot of people's surprise.

"That freshman.. ...He won." Kawamura blinked.

Everyone around just gaped in shock, save for Fuji who was just smiling, Tezuka who was still stoic, and Kaidoh who was on the ground.

"Won.. He won! Ryoma-kun won!"

"Kyaaaa!"

"Ryoma-sama!"

"Great!"

"Kyaaa!"

"Our prince!"

"He did it!"

"Wow!"

"Amazing!"

"He did it, Sakuno!"

"Yeah!"

Echizen just tugged her cap closer to her face, not caring that everyone is gaping, especially Arai and his friends. The freshmen trio ran up to her, and surrounded her with their smiles, Horio even grinned and put a hand over her shoulder, in which she just shrugged it off.

But the laughter stopped when Kaidoh started hitting his own knee.

"H-His own knee?!" Horio panicked.

"He's always the same.." Fuji stated.

'Is he nuts or something? Wouldn't this affect his tennis play?' Kaidoh stopped after his knee started to bleed, and the racket's frame was covered in blood.

He quickly stopped panting and wore his bandanna again - which had fallen off when the last point went to Echizen's favor. Echizen approached him and stood still when she was in the right position.

She raised her hand. "Handshake." She said coldly (and stoically).

He turned around to look at the kid, and 'hmph'ed after looking away.

"Sorry about that.." She said with a smirk, as she also put her down. Handshake? She didn't care for one either. It was just the customs, no? "...Shouldn't you also go and heal that? Won't it affect your tennis play?" She said in a voice loud enough only for him to hear.

He looked at the kid for a minute before she stared at him and walked away, which he did, too.

"That's too bad, Kaidoh." Inui stated.

"I won't give up my spot. Never!"

"That guy really won!"

"The new freshman who just entered won against the regular member!"

"As a result, the only remaining members, undefeated, in block D are him and you, Inui."

The trio were really happy, especially Horio who was patting her shoulders and occasionally 'massaging' them. She didn't like it though, and was quick to shove him off.

* * *

"I knew Echizen could win against Kaidoh-senpai!" Horio bragged.

"Horio-kun, these days, you say two different things with that mouth." Kachirou shot him a laid-back look.

"But he sure was amazing just now, Ryoma-kun. Now it's certain that he'll become a regular!"

"How lucky..." As the freshmen chatted, Echizen actually did her chores and cleaned the court.

"However, we don't know yet.. Today, Kaidoh-senpai's a second year member, but his next opponent is Inui-senpai, who is a third year member! Even if it's Echizen.." Horio said.

"Ryoma-kun will win!" Kachirou yelled at his face. 'This is getting annoying..'

"Don't get so mad!"

"Hey," She suddenly said, and their attention was directed at her. "I don't care what you say, but... Can we finish cleaning up now?" She was annoyed. She wouldn't just do all the work. They had to do it, too.

"Hey, hey! Ryoma-kun! Did you practice with a coach when you were younger?!"

"You sure are good, Ryoma-kun! Have you ever lost a game?"

"I lose all the time." She said stoically with closed eyes. Oh, when will she ever beat him.

"Don't joke around, Ryoma-kun! Isn't becoming a pro your goal?"

"Not really." Well, isn't that it? She only plays to defeat him.

"To say it's a lie is a waste!"

"With Ryoma-kun's abilities, you can definitely become one of the best!"

"I'm not interested." She never thought of that... ...Right?

"Eh?! Why?!" Kachirou and Katsuo pouted.

She decided to just ignore them. And then he hit the spot. "Then why do you play tennis?" Horio asked, confused. Why exactly does she play if she doesn't want to become a pro?

She just ignored them and went on. "Hey, Echizen!"

.

.

.

Just behind them were the two reporters. "The play that destroyed Kaidoh.." Inoue remembered. It was _exactly _the same form as his idol. "I am certain it was Samurai Nanjiroh's."

"Eh?"

"i have no choice but to go and meet him."

"Going to meet who?" Shiba asked.

"The father of that kid - Echizen Nanjiroh." He said with a proud smile. Now he was sure of who exactly was this kid.


End file.
